The present invention relates to a selective herbicidal composition for controlling grasses and weeds in crops of cultivated plants, especially in crops of maize, which composition comprises a herbicide and a safener (antidote) and protects the cultivated plants, but not the weeds, from the phytotoxic action of the herbicide, and to the use of said composition, or of the combination of herbicide and safener, for controlling weeds in crops of cultivated plants.
When applying herbicides, the cultivated plants may also suffer severe damage owing to factors that include the concentration of the herbicide and the mode of application, the cultivated plant itself, the nature of the soil, and the climatic conditions such as exposure to light, temperature and rainfall.
To counteract this problem and similar ones, the proposal has already been made to use different compounds as safeners which are able to antagonise the harmful action of the herbicide on the cultivated plant, i.e. to protect the cultivated plant while leaving the herbicidal action on the weeds to be controlled virtually unimpaired. It has, however, been found that the proposed safeners often have a very species-specific action, not only with respect to the cultivated plants but also to the herbicide, and in some cases also subject to the mode of application, i.e. a specific safener will often be suitable only for a specific cultivated plant and a specific class of herbicide.
It has now been found that certain chloro- and dichloroacetamides are suitable for protecting cultivated plants from the phytotoxic action of the compound a RS,1xe2x80x2S(xe2x88x92)N-(1xe2x80x2-methyl-2xe2x80x2-methoxyethyl)-N-chloracetyl-2-ethyl-6-methylaniline of formula I 
wherein R0 is methyl or ethyl.
Accordingly, the invention provides a selective herbicidal composition comprising, in addition to conventional inert formulation assistants such as carriers, solvents and wetting agents, as active component, a mixture of
a) a herbicidally effective amount of a compound of formula I 
wherein R0 is methyl or ethyl, and
b) to antagonise the herbicide, an antidotally effective amount of a compound of formula II as safener
Rxe2x80x94CHYClxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(II)
wherein R is a radical of formula 
xe2x80x83wherein
R33 and R34 are each independently of the other C1-C6alkyl or C2-C6alkenyl; or R33 and R34, taken together, are 
R35 and R36 are each independently of the other hydrogen or C1-C6alkyl;
or R33 and R34, taken together, are 
R37 and R38 are each independently of the other C1-C4alkyl, or R37 and R38, taken together, are xe2x80x94(CH2)5xe2x80x94;
R39 is hydrogen, C1-C4alkyl or 
or R33 and R34, taken together, are 
and R40, R41, R42, R43, R44, R45, R46, R47, R48, R49, R50, R51, R52, R54 and R55 are each independently of one another hydrogen or C1-C4alkyl,
or R is a radical of formula 
or R is a radical of formula 
xe2x80x83wherein R1, R2, R3 and
R4 are each independently of one another hydrogen, C1-C4alkyl, C1-C4alkoxy or C1-C4haloalkyl, R5, R6, R7 and R8 are each independently of one another hydrogen, C1-C4alkyl or C1-C4haloalkyl, or R is a radical of formula 
xe2x80x83wherein R9 is C1-C4alkyl or halogen, R10 is halogen,
R11 and R12 are each independently of the other hydrogen or C1-C4alkyl, and Q is C1-C4alkylene or alkyl-substituted C1-C4alkylene,
or R is a radical of formula 
xe2x80x83wherein R14 is hydrogen, halogen, C1-C4alkyl, dioxymethylene, C1-C4alkoxy, C2-C4alkenyloxy, C2-C4alkynyloxy or cyano-C1-C4alkyl, P is C1-C4alkyl, C2-C4alkenyl, C2-C4alkynyl, C3-C8cycloalkyl, C1-C4alkoxy-C1-C4alkyl, C2-C4alkenoxy-C1-C4alkyl, C2-C4alkynoxy-C1-C4alkyl, C1-C4alkylthio-C1-C4alkyl, C2-C4alkenylthio-C1-C4alkyl, C2-C4alkynylthio-C1-C4alkyl, C1-C4alkylsulfinyl-C1-C4alkyl, C1-C4alkylsulfonyl-C1-C4alkyl, halo-C1-C4alkyl, cyano-C1-C4alkyl, 2,2-di-C1-C4alkoxy-C1-C4alkyl, 1,3-dioxolan-2-yl-C1-C4alkyl, 1,3-dioxolan-4-yl-C1-C4alkyl, 2,2-di-C1-C4alkyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl-C1-C4alkyl, 1,3-dioxan-2-yl-C1-C4alkyl, 2-benzopyranyl-C1-C4alkyl, C1-C4alkoxycarbonyl or C2-C4alkenyloxycarbonyl or tetrahydrofurfuryl-C1-C4alkyl, the group P-X is also halo-C1-C4alkyl, X is O, S, SO or SO2, n is 1, 2 or 3, A is a C1-C8hydrocarbon radical or a C1-C8hydrocarbon radical which is substituted by alkoxy, alkylthio, fluoro, cyano or haloalkyl, and R13 is hydrogen, a C1-C5hydrocarbon radical or a C1-C5hydrocarbon radical which is substituted by alkoxy, polyalkoxy, halogen, cyano or trifluoromethyl;
C3-C8cycloalkyl, C1-C4alkyl-C3-C8cycloalkyl, di-C1-C4alkoxy-C1-C4alkyl, 1,3-dioxolan-2-yl-C1-C4alkyl, 1,3-dioxolan-4-yl-C1-C4alkyl, 1,3-dioxan-2-yl-C1-C4alkyl, furyl-C1-C4alkyl, tetrahydrofuryl-C1-C4alkyl, or a radical of formula xe2x80x94NHCO2R01, xe2x80x94CH2CO2R01, xe2x80x94CH(CH3)CO2R01 or xe2x80x94CH(R02)xe2x80x94C(R03)xe2x95x90NOR04, wherein R01 is methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl or allyl, R02 and R03 are each hydrogen or C1-C4alkyl, and R04 is hydrogen, C1-C4alkyl, C2-C4alkenyl or C2-C4alkynyl, or R is a radical of formula (H5C2O)2P(O)CH2NHCOxe2x80x94 or 
xe2x80x83wherein R15 and R16 are each independently of the other hydroxyl, C1-C4alkyl, aryl, C1-C4alkoxy, C2-C4alkenyloxy, C2-C4alkynyloxy, C2-C4haloalkoxy, C2-C8alkoxyalkoxy, C1-C4cyanoalkoxy, C1-C4phenylalkoxy or aryloxy or aryloxy which is substituted by halogen, cyano, nitro or C1-C4alkoxy, R17 is hydrogen, C1-C4alkyl or phenyl, or phenyl which is substituted by halogen, cyano, nitro or C1-C4alkoxy, R18 is hydrogen, or C1-C4alkyl, R19 is hydrogen or a radical of formula xe2x80x94COCX1X2xe2x80x94R06, or an alkenoyl radical which contains 2 to 4 carbon atoms in the alkenyl moiety and which is substituted by halogen, and X1 and X2 are each independently of the other hydrogen or halogen, or is a radical of formula xe2x80x94COOR07 or xe2x80x94COR08 or a C1-C4alkyl, C2-C4alkenyl or C1-C4phenylalkyl radical which may be substituted at the phenyl ring by halogen, cyano, nitro or C1-C4alkoxy, and R20 is hydrogen, C1-C4alkyl, C2-C4alkenyl or C2-C4alkynyl, R06 is hydrogen, halogen or C1-C6alkyl, R07 is C1-C4alkyl, C1-C4phenylalkyl or C1-C4phenylalkyl which is substituted in the phenyl moiety by halogen, cyano, nitro or C1-C4alkoxy, and R08 is C1-C4alkyl, C2-C4alkenyl, C2-C4alkynyl, phenyl, C1-C4phenylalkyl or C1-C4phenylalkyl which is substituted in the phenyl moiety by halogen, cyano, nitro or C1-C4alkoxy,
or R is a radical of formula 
or of formula 
xe2x80x83wherein R21 is methyl, ethyl, propyl, 1-methylethyl, 2-propenyl, 2-butenyl, 1,1-dimethyl-2-propenyl, 2-propynyl or 2-methyl-2-propynyl, and R22, R23, R24 and R25 are each independently of one another hydrogen or methyl,
and Y is chloro, or
Y is hydrogen if R is a radical of formula (H5C2O)2P(O)CH2NHCOxe2x80x94.
The alkyl groups cited in connection with the compounds of formula II may be straight-chain or branched and are typically methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl and hexyl, as well as branched isomers thereof. Suitable alkenyl radicals are derived from the aforementioned alkyl radicals. Aryloxy is most suitably phenyl and naphthoxy. Hydrocarbon radicals will be understood as meaning monovalent or divalent, saturated or unsaturated straight-chain or branched, or saturated or unsaturated cyclic radicals of carbon and hydrogen, typically alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkenyl and phenyl.
The invention further relates to the use of the novel composition for controlling weeds and grasses in crops of cultivated plants, in particular maize.
Preferred compounds of formula II for use in the novel composition are those wherein R is a radical of formula 
wherein R33 and R34 together are 
R37 and R38 are each independently of the other C1-C4alkyl; or R37 and R38, taken together, are xe2x80x94(CH2)5xe2x80x94; and R39 is hydrogen, C1-C4alkyl or 
Examples of particularly suitable compounds of formula II are listed in the following Tables 1 and 2.
Another group of preferred compounds of formula II comprises those compounds wherein
R is a radical of formula 
xe2x80x83wherein R21 is methyl, ethyl, propyl, 2-propenyl or 2-butenyl, and R22 and R25 are hydrogen. Among this group of compounds, that compound is particularly preferred wherein R21 is 2-propenyl.
Further preferred compounds of formula II are those wherein R is a radical of formula 
wherein R1 to R8 are each independently of one another hydrogen or C1-C4alkyl. Those compounds are particularly suitable wherein R1 to R7 are hydrogen and R8 is methyl.
In another group of particularly suitable compounds R is a radical of formula 
wherein R14 is hydrogen, C1-C4alkyl or C1-C4alkoxy, P is C1-C4alkyl, C2-C4alkenyl or C2-C4alkynyl, X is O or S, n is 1, A is a C1-C8hydrocarbon radical and R13 is hydrogen or a C1-C5hydrocarbon radical. Among this group of compounds, those compounds of formula II are particularly suitable wherein R14 is C1-C4alkoxy, P is C1-C4alkyl, X is O, A is C1-C4alkylene and R13 is C1-C4alkyl. The compound in which R14 is methoxy, P is methyl, A is methylene and R13 is isopropyl is of particular interest.
A further group of preferred compounds of formula II is that wherein R is a radical of formula 
wherein R15 and R16 are each independently of the other hydroxyl, C1-C4alkyl or C1-C4alkoxy, R17 and R18 are each independently of the other hydrogen or C1-C4alkyl, and R19 is hydrogen or a radical of formula xe2x80x94COOR07, wherein R07 is C1-C4alkyl, and R20 is hydrogen or C1-C4alkyl. Most preferably R16 and R15 are C1-C4alkoxy, R17 and R18 are hydrogen, R19 is a radical of formula xe2x80x94COOR07, wherein R07 is C1-C4alkyl, and R20 is hydrogen. The compound wherein R15 and R16 are isopropoxy and R19 is xe2x80x94COOC2H5 is of particular importance.
Particularly suitable compositions contain, as compound of formula II, a compound of formula III 
or of formula IV 
or of formula V 
The compound of formula I used in the practice of this invention and the preparation thereof is described, inter alia, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,606. The compounds of formula II used in the novel compositions and the preparation thereof are disclosed inter alia, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,618, U.S. Pat. No. 3,959,304, U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,481, U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,735, EP-A-149 974, EP-A-304 409, EP-A-31 686, EP-A-54 278, EP-A-23 305, U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,880, EP-A-143 078, EP-A-163 607, EP-A-126 710, as well as in DE-A-2 948 535.
The invention also relates to a method of selectively controlling weeds in crops of cultivated plants, which comprises treating said cultivated plants, the seeds or seedlings or the crop area thereof, concurrently or separately, with a herbicidally effective amount of the compound of formula I and, to antagonise the herbicide, an antidotally effective amount of a compound of formula II.
Suitable cultivated plants which can be protected by the compounds of formula II against the harmful action of the aforementioned herbicide are preferably those important in the food or textile sector, typically sugar cane and, in particular, millet and maize, as well as rice and other varieties of cereals such as wheat, rye, barley and oats.
The weeds to be controlled may be monocot as well as dicot weeds.
Crop areas are the areas already under cultivation with the crop plants or seeds thereof, as well as the areas intended for cultivation with said crop plants.
Depending on the end use, a safener of formula II can be used for pretreating seeds of the crop plants (dressing of seeds or seedlings) or it can be incorporated in the soil before or after sowing. It can, however, also be applied by itself alone or together with the herbicide pre- or postemergence. Treatment of the plant or the seeds with the safener can therefore in principle be carried out irrespective of the time of application of the phytotoxic chemical. Treatment of the plant can, however, also be carried out by simultaneous application of the phytotoxic chemical and safener (tank mixture).
The concentration of safener to be applied with respect to the herbicide will depend substantially on the mode of application. Where a field treatment is carried out either by using a tank mixture with a combination of safener and herbicide or by separate application of safener and herbicide, the ratio of safener to herbicide will usually be from 1:100 to 1:1, preferably from 1:50 to 1:10.
In field treatment, 0.001 to 5.0 kg/ha, preferably 0.001 to 0.5 kg/ha, of safener, will usually be applied.
The concentration of herbicide is usually in the range from 0.001 to 10 kg/ha, but will preferably be from 0.005 to 5 kg/ha.
The novel compositions are suitable for all methods of application commonly employed in agriculture, including preemergence application, postemergence application and seed dressing.
For seed dressing, 0.001 to 10 g of safener/kg of seeds, preferably 0.05 to 2 g of safener/kg of seeds, will usually be applied. If the safener is used in liquid form shortly before sowing to effect soaking, then it is preferred to use safener solutions that contain the active ingredient in a concentration of 1 to 10 000 ppm, preferably of 100 to 1000 ppm.
For application, it is preferred to process the compounds of formula II, or combinations of the compounds of formula II and the herbicides of formula I, together with the assistants conventionally employed in formulation technology, typically to emulsifiable concentrates, coatable pastes, directly sprayable or dilutable solutions, dilute emulsions, wettable powders, soluble powders, dusts, granulates or microcapsules.
The formulations are prepared in known manner, e.g. by homogeneously mixing and/or grinding the active ingredients with extenders, typically with solvents or solid carriers. Surface-active compounds (surfactants) can additionally be used for preparing the formulations.
Suitable solvents may typically be: aromatic hydrocarbons, preferably the fractions containing 8 to 12 carbon atoms, for example xylene mixtures or substituted naphthalenes; phthalates such as dibutyl or dioctyl phthalate; aliphatic hydrocarbons such as cyclohexane or paraffins; alcohols and glycols and their ethers and esters, for example ethanol, ethylene glycol, 2-methoxyethanol or 2-ethoxyethanol; ketones such as cyclohexanone; strongly polar solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, dimethyl sulfoxide or dimethyl formamide; as well as vegetable oils or epoxidised vegetable oils such as epoxidised coconut oil or soybean oil; or water.
The solid carriers typically used for dusts and dispersible powders are usually natural mineral fillers such as calcite, talcum, kaolin, montmorillonite or attapulgite. To improve the physical properties it is also possible to add highly dispersed silicic acid or highly dispersed absorbent polymers. Suitable granulated adsorptive carriers are porous types, including pumice, broken brick, sepiolite or bentonite; and suitable nonsorbent carriers are materials such as calcite or sand. In addition, innumerable pregranulated materials of inorganic or organic origin may be used, especially dolomite or pulverised plant residues.
Depending on the safener, and usually also on the herbicide, suitable surface-active compounds are nonionic, cationic and/or anionic surfactants having good emulsifying, dispersing and wetting properties. Surfactants will also be understood as comprising mixtures of surfactants.
Suitable anionic surfactants may be water-soluble soaps as well as water-soluble synthetic surface-active compounds.
Suitable soaps are the alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts, ammonium salts or substituted ammonium salts of higher fatty acids (C10-C22), e.g. the sodium or potassium salts of oleic or stearic acid, or of mixtures of natural fatty acids which can be obtained, inter alia, from coconut oil or tallow oil. Further suitable soaps are also the fatty acid methyl taurin salts.
More often, however, so-called synthetic surfactants are used, especially fatty sulfonates, fatty sulfates, sulfonated benzimidazole derivatives or alkylarylsulfonates.
The fatty alcohol sulfonates or sulfates are usually in the form of alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts, ammonium salts or substituted ammonium salts, and they contain a C8-C22alkyl radical which also includes the alkyl moiety of acyl radicals, e.g. the sodium or calcium salt of ligninsulfonic acid, of dodecylsulfate, or of a mixture of fatty alcohol sulfates obtained from natural fatty acids. These compounds also comprise the salts of sulfated and sulfonated fatty alcohol/ethylene oxide adducts. The sulfonated benzimidazole derivatives preferably contain two sulfonic acid groups and one fatty acid radical containing 8 to 22 carbon atoms. Illustrative examples of alkylarylsulfonates are the sodium, calcium or triethanolamine salts of dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid, dibutylnaphthalenesulfonic acid, or of a condensate of naphthalenesulfonic acid and formaldehyde.
Corresponding phosphates, typically salts of the phosphoric acid ester of an adduct of p-nonylphenol with 4 to 14 mol of ethylene oxide, or phospholipids, are also suitable.
Nonionic surfactants are preferably polyglycol ether derivatives of aliphatic or cycloaliphatic alcohols or of saturated or unsaturated fatty acids and alkylphenols, said derivatives containing 3 to 30 glycol ether groups and 8 to 20 carbon atoms in the (aliphatic) hydrocarbon moiety and 6 to 18 carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety of the alkylphenols.
Further suitable nonionic surfactants are the water-soluble polyadducts of polyethylene oxide with polypropylene glycol, ethylenediaminopolypropylene glycol and alkylpolypropylene glycol containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain, which polyadducts contain 20 to 250 ethylene glycol ether groups and 10 to 100 propylene glycol ether groups. These compounds usually contain 1 to 5 ethylene glycol units per propylene glycol unit.
Illustrative examples of nonionic surfactants are nonylphenol polyethoxylates, polyethoxylated castor oil, polyadducts of polypropylene and polyethylene oxide, tributylphenol polyethoxylate, polyethylene glycol and octylphenol polyethoxylate.
Fatty acid esters of polyoxyethylene sorbitan are also suitable nonionic surfactants, typically polyoxyethylene sorbitan trioleate.
Cationic surfactants are preferably quaternary ammonium salts carrying, as N-substituent, at least one C8-C22alkyl radical and, as further substituents, unsubstituted or halogenated lower alkyl, benzyl or hydroxy-lower alkyl radicals. The salts are preferably in the form of halides, methyl sulfates or ethyl sulfates, for example stearyl trimethylammonium chloride or benzyl bis(2-chloroethyl)ethylammonium bromide.
The surfactants customarily employed in the art of formulation are described, inter alia, in xe2x80x9cMc Cutcheon""s Detergents and Emulsifiers Annualxe2x80x9d, MC Publishing Corp., Glen Rock, N.J., 1981, H. Stache, xe2x80x9cTensid-Taschenbuchxe2x80x9d (Handbook of Surfactants), Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich/Vienna 1981, and J. Ash, xe2x80x9cEncyclopedia of Surfactantsxe2x80x9d, Vol. I-III, Chemical Publishing Co., New York, 1980-81.
The agrochemical formulations will usually contain from 0.1 to 99% by weight, preferably from 0.1 to 95% by weight, of safener of formula II or mixture of safener and herbicide, from 1 to 99.9% by weight, preferably from 5 to 99.8% by weight, of a solid or liquid formulation assistant, and from 0 to 25% by weight, preferably from 0.1 to 25% by weight, of a surfactant.
Whereas it is preferred to formulate commercial products as concentrates, the end user will normally use dilute formulations.
The compositions may also contain further ingredients such as stabilisers, antifoams, viscosity regulators, binders, tackifiers, as well as fertilisers or other chemical agents, e.g. commercial chloroacetanilides such as Frontier, Metazachlor, Acetochlor, Alachlor, Metolachlor or Butachlor, for achieving special effects.
Different methods and techniques may suitably be used for applying compounds of formula II or compositions containing them for protecting cultivated plants from the harmful effects of the herbicide of formula I, typically the following:
i) Seed Dressing
a) Dressing the seeds with a wettable powder formulation of the compound of formula II by shaking in a vessel until the safener is uniformly distributed on the surface of the seeds (dry treatment), using up to c. 1 to 500 g of compound of formula II (4 g to 2 kg of wettable powder) per 100 kg of seeds.
b) Dressing seeds with an emulsifiable concentrate of the compound of formula II by method a) (wet treatment).
c) Dressing by immersing the seeds in a mixture containing 100-1000 ppm of compound of formula II for 1 to 72 hours, leaving them wet or subsequently drying them (seed soaking).
Seed dressing or treatment of the germinated seedlings are naturally the preferred methods of application, as the safener treatment is fully concentrated on the target crop. Usually 1 to 1000 g, preferably 5 to 250 g, of safener is used per 100 kg of seeds. However, depending on the method employed, which also permits the use of other chemical agents or micronutrients, plus or minus deviations from the indicated limiting concentrations are possible (repeat dressing).
ii) Application From a Tank Mixture
A liquid formulation of a mixture of safener and herbicide (reciprocal ratio from 10:1 to 1:100) is used, the concentration of herbicide being from 0.01 to 10 kg/ha. This tank mixture is applied before or after sowing.
iii) Application in the Furrow
The safener formulated as emulsifiable concentrate, wettable powder or granulate is applied to the open furrow in which the seeds have been sown. After covering the furrow, the herbicide is applied preemergence in conventional manner.
iv) Controlled Release of Safener
A solution of the compound of formula II is applied to mineral granulate substrates or polymerised granulates (urea/formaldehyde) and allowed to dry. A coating may additionally be applied (coated granulates) which permits controlled release of the safener over a specific period of time.